Electron Heating by Parallel Electric Fields in Magnetotail Reconnection
Journal article, 2025
We investigate electron heating by magnetic-field-aligned electric fields (E∥) during antiparallel magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetotail. Using a statistical sample of 140 reconnection outflows, we infer the acceleration potential associated with E∥ from the shape of the electron velocity distribution functions. We show that heating by E∥ in the reconnection outflow can reach up to 10 times the inflow electron temperature. We demonstrate that the magnitude of the acceleration potential scales with the inflow Alfvén and electron thermal speeds to maintain quasineutrality in the reconnection region. Our results suggest that, as the inflow plasma parameter βe∞ increases, E∥ becomes increasingly important to the ion-to-electron energy partition associated with magnetic reconnection.
Magnetic reconnection
Space & astrophysical plasma
Earth's magnetosphere
Magnetotail
Particle acceleration in plasmas
Space science
Author
Louis Richard
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Yuri V. Khotyaintsev
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Cecilia Norgren
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Konrad Steinvall
Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic, High Energy and Plasma Physics
Daniel B. Graham
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Jan Egedal
University of Wisconsin Madison
Andris Vaivads
Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
Ventspils Augstskola
Rumi Nakamura
Institut fur Weltraumforschung
Physical Review Letters
0031-9007 (ISSN) 1079-7114 (eISSN)
Vol. 134 21 215201Extreme Plasma Flares
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (2022.0087), 2023-07-01 -- 2028-06-30.
Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics
Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.215201